Whoa! It has been about a month since I last posted. I’ve been trying to get back into my life—going to work more, going out with friends, etc. It’s been slow going and that drives me crazy. I have to continuously remind myself that I will feel better, but it will take awhile. The radiologist told me that recovery takes the same amount of time as treatment lasted.

However, that confuses me because I don’t know when to start counting. Is it the 4 1/2 months during full chemo? The 5 1/2 weeks of radiation? I still have Herceptin every three weeks until January 20th. Do I start counting then? Do I add it all together?  (a+b) 2 = a2+b2+2ab? How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood?

So I’ve been trying to take it slow and be conscientious of my energy levels. In the beginning, almost every time that I would work, I’d come home and crash out. Meaning, I would work for four hours and then go home to nap for three. The fatigue is really getting old. I would love to feel awake for an entire day. On the reverse, I have a terrible time sleeping at night. Even when I don’t take a nap, I climb into bed and my mind won’t shut down! So I’m tired all day and then wide awake for most of the night. It’s as if my body is playing practical jokes on me all of the time.

I talked with the nurse at my last chemo. She told me to take Benadryl or Tylenol PM. I’m also limiting caffeine, listening to rain sounds or classical music, and doing deep breathing exercises before I climb into bed. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

On the plus side, the skin around my breast is healing nicely. Although, I still look like a bathtub with a ring around it. My skin continues to take as much moisturizer as I give it. I apply lotions multiple times a day. There’s a bit of tenderness in the area, but I have no idea how much it is because of radiation versus mastectomy versus reconstruction. To be honest, it really doesn’t matter. I will heal in time.

I’ll do a hair update this weekend. It’s getting pose-able. 😀